Recruiting Roundup (2-9-10)

Tim has rebounded from a recent heel injury and has kept doing what he’s done all season: rack up points. In a big win over Homestead, Hardaway Jr. tallied 27. Just last week he finished with 30 points, along with four 3-pointers, in a loss to Carol City.

As usual, check out Evan’s latest commit diary for updates straight from him. Since that entry, New Hampton lost to Northfield Mount Hermon (you can watch highlights of them playing New Hampton here, but it doesn’t look pretty for Smotrycz’s squad). Also, according to his school’s website, Smotrycz scored 13 points in a big win over Holderness on Friday.

Trey Zeigler

Not only does Trey Zeigler keep scoring, his team keeps winning. Mount Pleasant is currently riding a nine-game win streak, its most recent victims being Bay City Central, which Zeigler torched for 28 points in a 72-55 win; Midland Dow, which Zeigler lit up for 33 points en route to a 67-49 win; and Saginaw High, which Mount Pleasant beat 56-53, thanks to 20 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two blocks from Zeigler.

Horford followed up his impressive performance against Jackson with a so-so game against Holt, scoring 18 points and grabbing seven boards. In his most recent game, against Okemos, Horford had 17 points, including a buzzer-beater to win, 52-50.

Isaiah Sykes

Sykes is apparently still on Michigan’s radar after transferring from Finney to Detroit Denby. Here’s a short feature on what he’s been doing since transferring, including a mention of Michigan checking out one of his games.

2011

Carlton Brundidge (Commit)

Since we haven’t done one of these for a while, we’re going to take you back to January 25th, when Brudnidge scored 12 points in a win over Rochester Adams while shooting just 12 shots. He followed that meh performance with 27 points against Farmington in a close 64-63 loss. In his most recent game, the scoring guard went to work. Brundidge and his new backcourt mate Desmond Barnes each scored 17 points and Carlton also pulled down eight boards in a win against their rival, Southfield-Lathrup.

The 6-10, 220-pound center has been out with a knee injury for what seems like forever, but he was supposed to make his return against national power Columbus Northern on Saturday according to the Detroit News.

Unfortunately, the game had to be postponed because of the massive snowstorm that hit Columbus a couple days ago. Instead of playing a game, Amir Williams made the trek over to Ann Arbor for the Wisconsin/Michigan game.

Williams should be making his return this Friday in Ann Arbor when Detroit Country Day takes on Pioneer. We will be at the game and bringing back footage and a scouting report, so sit tight.

Spencer Turner

Turner continues to impress on a loaded team, dropping 10 points in a win against Franklin Central, which just so happened to be the 40th win in a row for his Bloomington South squad. Since then, the Panthers have extended the streak to 42, most recently beating the aforementioned national power Columbus North 67-49. I couldn’t get a point total for Turner for the game, but apparently he was under the weather so it probably wasn’t much.

Also, if you ever want to watch footage of Turner’s team, they have a ton of their games on YouTube. here’s the link to a game against Southport, probably from last year, the rest should be listed beside it.

Justin Gant

Going all the way back to January 15th, Gant had a nice game against West Vigo, scoring 19 points and grabbing six rebounds in the 63-39 win. Gant also put on a show more recently against South Vigo, going for 24 and 14 in the win. Here’s a video with two of Gant’s dunks from that game (as well as one from Washington’s Cody Zeller):

Mike Gilchrist

The top player in the country is coming off a nasty knee sprain, but still contributing: the St. Patrick star tallied 13 against Lawrenceville in a 69-49 win, then three days later scored 22 against Taft. As far as where he stands with Michigan, there hasn’t been much news.

Cody Zeller

You already saw an impressive dunk from the 6-9, 200-pound junior, but he’s been lighting up the stat sheet as well as the local news highlights. On January 29th against Boonville, Zeller scored a game-high 20 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and swatted five shots in a lopsided victory.

2012

Yogi Ferrell

Yogi followed an unimpressive seven-point performance against Lapel on January 23rd with a strong 19-point showing against Cardinal Ritter three days later. Tudor’s much-anticipated game against Brebeuf Jesuit was scheduled for last Friday but was postponed until yesterday. This post will be updated when we learn anything about the game.

Dunham finished a 74-53 win over Highland with 17 points on January 22nd, and followed up that performance with a 23-point night in a victory against Greenfield-Central. Most recently, the sophomore scored 12 points in a win against Lapel.

Horford seems to appreciate the attention Michigan is giving him, which is a good sign. And if he really wants to play somewhere his friends and family can come and watch then how could he not choose Michigan?

If Providence is the biggest competition, I’d feel confident because frankly as much as Keno Davis has helped that program they’re still not even as good as URI right now.

Its Alabama I’m concerned about. SEC teams spare no expense when it comes to recruiting (pun intended) and Grant coached under Billy Donovan who recruited his brother out from under Amaker.

Evan

I wish signing day was closer so we can actually know for sure who will be our recruits earlier.

Jeff

I don’t follow recruiting that closely so maybe this is a dumb question. Is it a concern that Smotrycz is only scoring in the low to mid-teens most games? Every update I see on him always says he scored in the 13-16 point range. On another site someone said Wolverine Magazine had an article that said he was averaging 13 ppg. Like I said, I don’t follow recruiting that closely, but that seems really low for a guy that one website has as top-60. Hardaway is scoring like crazy but is rated lower by everybody. Can anyone explain this to me? Is this normal?

http://snowfoxdesign.com Benjamin

Jeff,

I wouldn’t be too concerned with Evan’s averages, he plays in a very competitive league.

Jim

Jeff,

Evan plays in a much higher caliber league than Hardaway. Evan’s league is a prep league where many top-flight kids go to hone their skills against some of the best 5 year players out there. Smote has a great skill package and will be a definite plus next year.

Dylan, here’s a question I haven’t seen addressed on any of the sites, perhaps you can help out here. The assumption, although that is now in question due to the challenging year both for him and the team, has been that Manny will depart AA after the season for greener, hopefully big bucks, pastures thus opening up a schollie presumably for Ziegler. The question is how many schollies are available if Manny stays in AA? Tnanks!

Jim

Dylan, how come no report on Marshall Plumlee?

Recently read on Scout where Dave Telep reported that Wisconsin and Virginia were doing a particularly good job recruiting him with a mention in the thread that Michigan was also in the running along with Duke and a couple other schools.

Matt

If Manny stays in Ann Arbor we can still give out 2 more scholarships. Ben Cronin’s scholarship has essentially been removed since his hip injury. So, we’ll have 2 Seniors (Harris and Wright), 3 Juniors (LLP, Douglass, Novak), 2 Sophomores (Morris and Vogrich) and 4 Freshaman: 2 being redshirted (Morgan and McLimans) and 2 incoming freshman (Smotrycz and Hardaway). So by my count that is 11 scholarships. We gave a scholarship to Eso Akunne this year but that doesn’t carry over for next year unless we only sign one more recruit and Beilein wants to give him a scholarship. Anthony Wright’s 2010-2011 season would be as a redshirt senior so I’m not sure how that works but I don’t think UM has to give him a scholarship. He could enroll in graduate school and stay on the team. Who knows.

So we do have room to give Horford and Zeigler scholarships even if Manny stays. We’ll have to see.

Jeff

Ah, thanks for the replies. Hopefully, that’s all it is.

As for scholarships, Sims and Gibson’s open up, plus Akunne was a preferred walkon who received a one-year scholarship. It is assumed that Cronin will be switched to a medical scholarship and Dumars will be a walkon, leaving four scholarships available for next year, with only Smotrycz and Hardaway committed.

http://umhoops.com Mattski

Re: Horford. There’s a big difference academically btwn Florida and Alabama; Flo. is one of two SEC schools that would qualify for the B10. If Horford cares about academics, as has been inferred, maybe he’ll opt for Michigan.

Matt

Does anyone really think that Manny Harris is going to leave? I don’t see him getting drafted in the first round and if you aren’t drafted in the 1st round, you’re not guaranteed a contract. I know mock drafts really don’t mean anything but as I look through them I don’t see Manny making anyone’s 1st round list; 2nd round on some.

Manny will stay. I think he realizes that a diploma from the University of Michigan is very highly valued. Plus, he can do more to improve his draft stock and help rebuild this program.

Jeff

Matt, I agree with you that he’s highly unlikely to go in the first round this year. However, that doesn’t stop literally dozens of kids from declaring early each year and either going in the 2nd round or going undrafted altogether. I think it’s really difficult to determine what Manny is thinking right now. He may be worried that the team will be even worse next year and he’ll be triple-teamed on every play or he may think coming back for one more year won’t have any effect on where he eventually gets drafted. He’s a 19 year-old kid and there’s no telling what his motivations and thought process are at this point.

Cieslak

Dylan this is great stuff. Just when i think i know a lot about Michigan BBall, you do one of these things :)

bird

Nice work, Calvin.

Do you have any info on Julian Washburn? I asked about this before. Rivals ranks the 6’7 combo forward from NJ as #95 in 2010 and has Michigan as one of several schools listed as medium interest (none are high). He has several offers, but not from us. Should I just disregard this uncommitted recruit and chalk it up to faulty data entry maintenance on Rivals’ part?

michigan hoops 4eva

Beilein needs to continue recruiting the hell out of Zeigler, Horford, Amir Williams, and Zeller. Getting 2-3 out of those 4 would set a great foundation for the future.

JB

Regarding Horford –

He says he’s most interested in an in-state school where he can play immediately. we’re the only big time school that fits his criteria. what is the significance of him waiting until spring? does he not want to commit/decommit as his brother did, or is he holding out for other schools? also, i heard alabama backed off on him some, i guess not? any thoughts?

http://www.umhoops.com Dylan

Nothing about Plumlee just because I don’t think we could find any.

I haven’t heard Washburn’s name.

Cieslak: Credit goes to Calvin, he did it.

Matt

I have no idea why he’s waiting to commit, but maybe he just wants to finish his high school career without the distractions of committing and all that jazz. I’m sure it’s very stressful and it really is a huge decision, so he’s taking his time.

If he wants to stay close to home, he’ll come to AA. If he wants academics, he’ll come to AA.

AG2

Well he definitely wouldn’t play right away at MSU. Not with Green, Roe, and Sherman ahead of him, not to mention Adrian Payne coming in next year.

intrpdtrvlr

I don’t think MSU is recruiting Horford anymore. They offered a year ago but that ship sailed with Gauna and Payne.
I think he’s going to be a Wolverine and the bane of the G&W’s existence for a while.

MSU fans are starting to feel good about Zeigler. Izzo’s told him there will be a spot for him. We’ll see.

Alex

Horford seems like he could be another Peedi. From what I’ve heard, Peedi was not amazing as a freshman but now he’s a stud. People have said Horford needs to bulk up a bit before he could be a force down low.

As I’ve said before I hope Horford and Ziegler strongly consider us.

Evan

We better hope that Zeigler doesnt go to State because we will regret having him own us for the next 4 years.

AG2

Ugh, if Zeigler is really going to MSU, we could be looking at a Kalin Lucas/Troy Smith type of nemesis.

http://umhoops.com Wayman Britt

Nothing against Horford or Sykes, but if Beilein wants to compete against MSU, OSU, UW or PU he must get Zeigler.

Of course Izzo wants Zeigler and will have a spot for him. He will do anything so he doesn’t go to UM. It’s the same thing he did with Draymond Green he really did not want him at first, but took him so UM would not get him. If Zeigler was not looking at UM, Izzo would let him go to UCLA.

Big Ten should now be getting five teams into the Tournament at least. It would take a massive collapse for the conference to not get at least five teams. Kind of a bittersweet victory but at least we know that we play in an extremely talented conference.

I don’t understand people who say any recruit is a “must get” or that JB “has” to get a kid to go to Michigan. It’s impossible to make a kid come to your school (while still following NCAA rules). A coach can pay a lot of attention to a kid, attend games, let him know how important he is and will be, show off the school and what it has to offer but can’t make a kid commit. If a kid wants to go elsewhere he will go elsewhere. I think the coaches are doing a great job in recruiting Zeigler and other top kids and hopefully it pays off.

pgrom

either Beilein gets kids like Zeigler to commit or we need to find a coach that will land those kids. It’s as simple as that. I’m sick of the excuses and sick of finishing second.

Alex

At least MSU and their fans are getting a taste of our misery this season. Purdue is kicking their butts at the Breslin Center.

AG2

Anyone’s beatable guys. Remember that come BTT time.

Alex

I’m not the one who needs to remember. Agreed though AG2. Great point.

Tweeter

The problem that UM is going to have in the BTT is that they will have to win 4 games to win the tourney. Considering our lack of depth, I dont see them holding up for four games in four days.

Erik

Alex, I think Peedi was better than his freshman numbers indicate. He took time off as a freshman because his brother was murdered. Mentally I think he had a tough time adjusting to college and his personal loss. But basketball wise I think he was more prepared than Horford is (at least from the video Dylan shared of Horford).

JimC

Poor poor Sparty. Very sad, in a funny sort of way.

http://www.umhoops.com Dylan

Erik: I don’t believe he took much, if any, time off. He said that being on the basketball court helped him.

His freshman year he really looked like he couldn’t make a layup. It was tough to envision him looking like he did right now, that’s for sure.

Evan

He still cant make a layup. Im just kidding he turned out to be a great player and I hope some how he makes it pro.

Matt

pgrom, I think you are putting too much emphasis on recruiting sites and the star system. Go to rivals or scout and look at Beilein’s class whenever he made it to the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 at WVU. Those players weren’t top knotch coming out of high school but they fit Beilein’s system and they developed into awesome college players. Of course our future teams would probably be better with Trey Zeigler but if he goes elsewhere I believe someone we are getting or have now will step up. Just remember, we haven’t seen Morgan or McLimans play and with a year under their belts, Vogrich and Morris will improve next year.

I just look forward to the years to come and to see if we land Zeigler and/or Horford. Next years Michigan team will be extremely young but I look to the future and see a lot of promise.

fresh

heard sam webb this morning say that no matter what anybody is saying……..he believes that ucla is the biggest threat to get zeigler over UM not state or duke or anybody else……..he said that he talked to trey a week ago and trey said he was still very much interested in michigan……..

DaveR

If Michigan loses out on Zeigler, this class will again be a subpar class. If they lose out on both Zeigler and Horford, this class will be very subpar.

Michigan needs to land both Zeigler and Horford AND get major contributions from both Morgan and Mcclimans next year to avoid the bottom half of the Big Ten next year. Even then, if Michigan wants to have a chance at being a top twenty non-bubble NCAA tourney team, they’ll need one more good recruiting year with at least one top 50 stud and a couple top 100 players. Beilein’s going to have to recruit quite a bit better to get this team back where it belongs.

Adam

If Michigan loses out on Zeigler it will not be a subpar class. It will be a par class at worst because Smotrycz and Hardaway are great pickups who can play anywhere and particularly fit the system great. If they land Ziegler and Horford it turns into an amazing class. It cannot be a bad class with how it is right now, but I hope it gets better with Ziegler and if not, Sykes is not a bad backup plan

Kainkitizen

If Trey does not commit to us. Coach should just hang on to the extra scholarship for the 2011 class and have 3 players in that particular recruiting class. Sykes is probably at best a MAC Player or Horizon League Player from the reports. We can’t compete with the big boys with talent like that. It would be great and wonderful to see both Trey and Jon be Wolverines next year. I also see Tim Hardaway moving up in the rankings at season end. The 2010 Recruiting class could easily be a top 20 for Coach and the basketball program.

fresh

pure and simple……..doesnt matter what we all say………..he has to get bettter talent here in order to win…….michigan needs players with more capabilities…….i heard his weekly interview with sam webb where he stated this exactly……..he knows that nobody has a midrange game, he knows what he needs, it is just a matter of being able to make it happen……….beilein understands the game and what it takes to win